Best longreads 2020

Our top 5 long reads of 2020

In-depth reporting that you may have missed.

We've made it to the final week of 2020—a big accomplishment in a year that felt never-ending.

With the holidays here, you may have a little more time to relax. Wondering what to do with that time? We've got you covered.


Kick up your feet, grab a mug of your favorite hot drink and settle in to catch up on our top five long reads of the year. From the ocean floor to the forests of North Carolina to the blustery North, below are our top investigations and features.

1. Unplugged: Abandoned oil and gas wells leave the ocean floor spewing methane

Gulf of Mexico oil and gas drilling

The Gulf of Mexico is littered with tens of thousands of abandoned oil and gas wells, and toothless regulation leaves climate warming gas emissions unchecked.

2. How Europe’s wood pellet appetite worsens environmental racism in the US South

An expanding wood pellet market in the Southeast has fallen short of climate and job goals—instead bringing air pollution, noise and reduced biodiversity in majority Black communities.

3. ‘Them plants are killing us’: Inside a cross-border battle against cancer and pollution

Air pollution Sault Ste. Marie Ontario

Two communities — one in Canada, one in the U.S. — share both a border along the St. Marys River and a toxic legacy that has contributed to high rates of cancer. Now the towns are banding together to fight a ferrochrome plant.

4. Microplastics in farm soils: A growing concern

Researchers say that more microplastics pollution is getting into farm soil than oceans—and these tiny bits are showing up in our fruits, veggies, and bodies.

5. Exempt from inspection: States ignore lead-contaminated meat in food banks

Hunter-donated meat provides crucial protein to US food banks. But an EHN investigation found a lack of oversight that could result in potentially hundreds of thousands of lead-contaminated meals this year.

Banner photo: The Algoma steel plant after sunset, in Sault Ste., Marie, Ont., on Friday, Jan., 17, 2020. (Credit: Christopher Katsarov Luna/EHN)

An EV battery.
Credit: Malp/BigStock Photo ID: 211384858

How old electric car batteries are quietly powering a cleaner future

A British recycling company is turning shredded electric vehicle batteries into new power cells, offering a path toward cleaner supply chains and energy independence.

Michael Marshall reports for the BBC.

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Sunrise in the woods

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An aerial view of the Paris skyline with the Eiffel Tower in the center.
Credit: Photo by Masood Aslami/Unsplash

Paris proves cities can clear the air by kicking cars to the curb

Over two decades, Paris slashed car traffic, ramped up green space, and reimagined its streets — and now, the air is finally catching its breath.

Naema Ahmed and Chico Harlan report for The Washington Post.

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A protest sign with different colored letters reading "love our planet".

Climate protests may shape politics more than you think

New research shows that climate protests — peaceful or disruptive — are changing minds, nudging elections, and keeping democracy alive in the face of rising authoritarianism.

Kate Yoder reports for Grist.

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a nuclear power plant with cooling towers and electricity pylons silhouetted against an orange sky.

Recycling nuclear waste may sound smart, but it’s splitting the atom world in two

Startups are pushing to recycle spent nuclear fuel to power next-gen reactors, but experts warn this could reignite global weapons risks.

Rebecca Tuhus-Dubrow reports for Yale Environment 360.

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A red baseball cap with the words Make America Great Again on a wooden surface outside.

Trump’s science cuts could backfire on his own energy agenda

The Trump administration’s push to shrink federal science programs could end up sabotaging its own efforts to fast-track energy and mining projects.

Michael Doyle and Ellie Borst report for E&E News.

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San Francisco skyline in wildfire smoke haze.
Credit: Oswaze/BigStock Photo ID: 255596017

NIH signals end to key research on climate change and health

The Trump administration is moving to end National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding for research on how climate change harms human health, a shift scientists warn could endanger lives.

Maggie Astor reports for The New York Times.

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A hurricane off the coasts of Florida and Cuba.

Forecasts warn of intensifying hurricane season as NOAA faces deep budget cuts

Scientists are bracing for a dangerous 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, even as the Trump administration pushes steep cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the federal agency responsible for storm forecasting.

Matt Simon reports for Grist.

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From our Newsroom
Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro speaks with the state flag and American flag behind him.

Two years into his term, has Gov. Shapiro kept his promises to regulate Pennsylvania’s fracking industry?

A new report assesses the administration’s progress and makes new recommendations

silhouette of people holding hands by a lake at sunset

An open letter from EPA staff to the American public

“We cannot stand by and allow this to happen. We need to hold this administration accountable.”

wildfire retardants being sprayed by plane

New evidence links heavy metal pollution with wildfire retardants

“The chemical black box” that blankets wildfire-impacted areas is increasingly under scrutiny.

People  sitting in an outdoors table working on a big sign.

Op-ed: Why funding for the environmental justice movement must be anti-racist

We must prioritize minority-serving institutions, BIPOC-led organizations and researchers to lead environmental justice efforts.

joe biden

Biden finalizes long-awaited hydrogen tax credits ahead of Trump presidency

Responses to the new rules have been mixed, and environmental advocates worry that Trump could undermine them.

Op-ed: Toxic prisons teach us that environmental justice needs abolition

Op-ed: Toxic prisons teach us that environmental justice needs abolition

Prisons, jails and detention centers are placed in locations where environmental hazards such as toxic landfills, floods and extreme heat are the norm.

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